Paint-brush



(ModeL) J. ELLIOTT.

PAINT BRUSH.

No. 298,359. Patented May 18, 1884.

,B 10 D t Y .Eihiii INVENTOR UNITED rarns JAMES ELLIOTT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PAINT-BRUSH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 298,359, dated May 13, 1884.

Application filed September 14, 1883. (Model) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES ELLIOTT, of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Bridling Paint-Brushes and other Similar Brushes.

The following is a specification of my improvements, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a brush embodying my invention, the line of section being just to one side of the brush-handle. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through the center of the brush. Fig. 3 is a View of the brush in perspective, the rubber bridling being shown as partially removed, and Fig. 4 is a View in perspective and on an enlarged scale of one of the end pieces, or guards, as I prefer to term them.

It is customary in the use of paint and similar brushes for the workman to place what is technically known as a bridle around the bristles. The object of this bridle is to confine the bristles together at a point nearly midway between their free ends andthe handle or seat thereof, since the great length of the bristles, when the brush is new, would otherwise cause the paint to spatter or spread unevenly. Ordinarily the bridling is effected by winding stout string tightly around the bristles from the handle to the desired point, the string being gradually removed as the bristles wear away, so as to maintain the bridle at the proper relative distance from their free ends. WVhile this method is sufficiently well adapted to round brushes, it is not practicable with square or oblong ones, since the winding of the string about the bristles would compress them into a round form at the bridle, and thus destroy the symmetry of the brush. As, however, it is highly desirable to use square and oblong brushes, and for the sake of economy of manufacture and use to make them with long bristles, some mode of bridling them properly has long been an object, and to this end my invention is directed.

It consists in fixing rigid projecting pieces, which I term guards, upon two opposite sides of the brush, these pieces conforming in width to the side of the brush on which they are placed, and extending beyond the permanent fastening of the bristles toward their fore ends as far as it is desired to bridle them. A removable bridle, preferably of rubber or elastic material, is then placed tightly around the brush, and as the strain is borne by the guards the figure of the brush itself is preserved.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents'a brush head or handle, in which the bristles B are secured in the usual manner. In the instance shown the brush is of oblong rectangular shape.

Upon each .of the narrower sides of the head A, I form a groove, 0, to receive the shank D of the guard E. This guard E is of about the same width as the narrower side of the brush, and should be of wood, hard rubber, or other rigid material, and of sufficient thickness to resist the strain of the bridle.

The bridle F, I prefer to construct of soft vulcanized rubber, and in the form of a stout wide band, of such dimensions as to be sprung tightly over the brush head or handle A, and extend over the head and guards, inclosing and compressing the bristles on the free sides of the brush or those between the guards E. The bristles are thus bridled as far down as the line b,- but the elasticity of the rubber bridle permits a certain amount of lateral movement in the whole mass of bristles, which is highly desirable, as it makes the brush easy to handle, but at the same time, by preventing the spreading of the individual bristles, avoids the tendency to spatter or to distribute the paint unevenly. Cord, however, may be used instead of rubber, in which case I form notches or grooves transversely across the guards E, to prevent the cord from slipping off, and wrap it tightly around the brush and guards. As the brush wears away, the bridle may be rolled or slipped back, or partly removed, to preserve it at the proper distance from the ends, and the guards-E may be shortened by cutting, or removed and replaced by a shorter pair; or the guards may be so constructed as to be adjustable lengthwise. The temporary bridling of the brush is thus efi'ected without distorting the square or oblong shape, and all the advantages due to that shape are preserved.

I have above described the brush as of rectangular form; but obviously the invention is adapted to oval or other shapes which would be distorted by a tightly-applied bridle of elastic or pliable material.

I am aware that it is not new to construct brush-heads with an end recess formed by projecting ears thereon, within which the bristles are permanently, secured against lateral movement by means of a rigid plate extending across between said cars, a permanent Wrapping being applied around the same. Such method differs entirelyfrom myimprovements, in that said ears and wrapping form anintegral portion of the brush-head or seat of the bristles, the latter not being capable of use when worn down to the said seat. In my invention the side guards and removable bridle are applied to the free part of the bristles, ex-

tending from the permanent fastening thereof to a point about midway of their total length, and thus produce the described result.

Having thus described my invention ,I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The combination, with a square or oblong brush, of the guards E, applied on opposite sides thereof, and projecting, as described, beyond the permanent fastening of the bristles, and the removable bridle applied around and supported by said guards, substantially as specified.

CHARLES T. BRICKMAN, JAMEs HARLANI). 

